These 7 distinctive options have me hooked on gaming telephones

Common flagship smartphones are wonderful for gaming, however specialised gaming telephones like the most recent Nubia RedMagic 10 Pro and Asus ROG Phone 9 go the additional mile to offer a top-tier expertise. They use the identical premium Snapdragon chips with as a lot energy as flagships like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 line , however add a number of enhancements to enhance gaming efficiency.

The best gaming phones are constructed in another way as a result of they have to assist resource-hungry titles, whereas staying cool and sustaining excessive show refresh charges over prolonged durations. In addition they want adequate battery life for lengthy gaming periods and on a regular basis practicality. Let’s study some distinctive options that make gaming telephones stand out and clarify why they’re vital to gamers.

1 Shoulder Triggers are extra helpful than you assume

Use your cellphone like a gamepad

Some gaming telephones set themselves aside from common flagships by together with shoulder triggers to enhance usability. The triggers are often situated alongside the precise facet of the cellphone’s body and turn into accessible when the machine is turned horizontally. You get several types of shoulder triggers relying on the model. Some telephones provide bodily buttons with a extra controller-like really feel, whereas others embody discrete, low-profile, touch-sensitive triggers.

Both method, shoulder triggers present additional configurable buttons that remodel the cellular gaming expertise. In capturing video games, they are often mapped to aiming and firing, liberating your thumbs for motion. In racing video games, they may also be configured for braking and acceleration. Some telephones allow you to divide every button into two, modify their sensitivity, or configure them for swiping as a substitute of urgent.

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2 Excessive refresh-rate shows make all the pieces really feel snappy

Smoother graphics for the most effective expertise

Present flagship telephones, just like the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 9 Pro, have variable refresh charges of as much as 120Hz to make sure clean scrolling and graphics. The excessive body charges make the cellphone’s show really feel extra fluid and are nice for watching motion pictures and different each day duties. Nonetheless, demanding avid gamers desire one thing sooner to remove movement blur and acquire an edge in fast-paced aggressive titles.

The most recent gaming telephones have larger refresh charges than most flagships. Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Professional goes up 144Hz, whereas the Asus ROG 9 Professional gives a incredible 185Hz for the smoothest visuals doable. That stated, the one approach to profit from these excessive refresh charges is to play suitable titles that assist them, like Minecraft, Alto’s Odyssey, and Useless Cells, to call just a few.

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3 3.5mm audio stays a handy headphone choice

Headphone jacks are nonetheless alive

Apple ditched the headphone jack again in 2016 with the iPhone 7, and different manufacturers shortly adopted swimsuit (I am taking a look at you Samsung). The choice appeared controversial then, however most customers moved on to Bluetooth, and few seemed again as a result of they had been happier with the wi-fi expertise.

Whereas Bluetooth is good for taking part in music or watching content material, it has some disadvantages for gaming. Bluetooth connections are susceptible to latency, making a noticeable delay between what’s occurring on display screen and the audio output out of your earbuds. Most present gaming telephones are full of the most recent tech, however retain the three.5mm port for lossless audio. Gamers can join their wired headphones for immediate communication with teammates or connect audio system to get pleasure from gunshots and explosions with very good readability.

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4 Superior cooling options hold your cellphone chilled

Holding issues operating easily

Most common telephones overheat or throttle efficiency for those who play demanding video games with intense graphics and excessive body charges for prolonged durations. Alternatively, gaming telephones can simply deal with the required processing energy with out points as a result of they’ve superior cooling mechanisms for thermal effectivity.

The cooling methods fluctuate relying on the cellphone, however many have a number of graphite sheets paired with vapor chambers on the within to assist dissipate warmth. Others, just like the RedMagic lineup, embody additional vents to absorb cool air and a built-in fan to expel heat air after it passes by way of the cellphone. Most gaming cellphone manufacturers additionally provide clip-on exterior cooling followers to handle the temperature as add-on equipment.

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5 Larger batteries imply you’ll be able to play for longer

Uninterrupted play for hours

Sustained gaming can suck the life out of your battery very quickly due to its excessive vitality necessities. Gaming telephones fight this downside by together with high-capacity batteries bigger than most flagships. This implies you’ll be able to get pleasure from your favourite titles and nonetheless use your cellphone for each day duties like shopping and checking emails.

To place issues in perspective, the Galaxy S24 Extremely has a 4,855 mAh battery, whereas the Pixel 9 Professional gives 5,060 mAh. Alternatively, the ROG Telephone 9 Professional includes a bigger 5,800 mAh cell. Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Professional takes issues to a different degree with a 7,050 mAh battery that provides round two days of standby and 14 hours of gaming.

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6 Quick charging will get you again within the sport faster

Get again in control very quickly

Massive-capacity batteries would not be sensible in the event that they took ages to cost after you’ve got completed enjoying. That is why the most effective gaming telephones provide fast-charging capabilities, so you’ll be able to prime them up shortly after they run out of juice.

Mainstream flagship telephones, like the most recent Galaxy S25 Extremely, provide 45W wired charging — this is not dangerous, however it could possibly be higher. The RedMagic 10s Professional blows it away with an included 80W charger and blistering 100W prime charging pace, which might prime up its large battery in round half-hour. The Asus ROG Telephone 9 Professional gives a formidable 65-watt quick charging pace and offers extra practicality with a second USB-C port for charging the cellphone in panorama mode.

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7 Excessive reminiscence capability ensures a clean expertise

Extra RAM for demanding video games

Gaming telephones deal with the immense processing energy and graphics necessities of resource-hungry titles whereas operating different apps within the background. They do that with out freezing and supply clean efficiency beneath heavy masses as a result of they’ve extra RAM than most flagship telephones.

Google’s top-of-the-range Pixel 9 Professional XL is a high-performance cellphone with 16GB of RAM, whereas the Galaxy S25 Extremely tops out at 12GB. Alternatively, the usual Asus ROG Telephone 9 begins at 16GB, and the Professional Version goes as much as 24GB of RAM. The identical goes for the RedMagic 10 Professional, which begins at 12GB for the entry-level mannequin and contains 16 and 24GB variants if you’d like extra efficiency.

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